Manchester Science Festival Meet-Up for @SalfordUni

Storytelling is a big part of science communication and is integral to our new MSc in #SciComm and Future Media, which is supported by the Schools of Environment and Life Sciences, Arts and Media, and Computer Science and Engineering.

So, over the next month, the Schools of Arts and Media and Environment and Life Sciences have teamed up to co-produce two events focused on storytelling, in partnership with ITV.

We invite staff and students to come along to this event to be inspired creatively to think about what we might do for Manchester Science Festival, to meet staff involved with its development, and to be inspired to think more creatively and collaboratively.

Here’s a more detailed overview of the events, including a link for signing up:

Meet the Neighbours: The power of storytelling on ITV

ITV is the nation's biggest commercial producer and broadcaster, investing £1bn each year in creating premium programme content. Across a range of genres and a variety of platforms ITV tells powerful and engaging stories to audiences across the UK and around the world. They also harness the power of storytelling in the way they work with commercial partners to help those brands tell their stories and drive sales.

In these two sessions, ITV will reveal the way storytelling through programmes and brands keeps ITV at the heart of popular culture as the most watched, most loved and most talked about broadcaster and marketing platform in the UK. As well as an opportunity to ask questions, there will also be a chance to chat to members of the ITV team after each session.

Join Jason Spencer, ITV's Business Development Director, on the 21st March, 5-6pm at the University of Salford’s MediaCityUK campus for the first part of these exciting sessions. Jason will share how to tell stories for brands and how ITV is where brands live. This session will be chaired by Dr Erinma Ochu (Lecturer in Science Communication and Future Media, University of Salford) Click here to book onto this event and select date ‘Tues 21st March’.

Plus don’t miss out on part two on 25th April 5-6pm at the University’s of Salford’s MediaCityUK campus where Kieran Roberts will share the secrets behind Coronations Street’s enduring success after 56 years and why it remains the nation’s number one soap. This session will be chaired by Beth Hewitt, Director of Nations and Regions Media Conference, School of Arts & Media University of Salford. Click here to book onto this event and and select date ‘Tues 25th April’.

Join us after the talk for a drinks reception and networking in the MCUK foyer space.

Jason Spencer – Business Development Director

For 5 years as Business Development Director, Jason has driven growth and innovation in the way ITV Commercial has evolved outside London, across 9 regional teams, through working in partnership with brands and media agencies. Prior to ITV, Jason spent most of his career at media agencies – from media planning roles at Carat and PHD in London to running PHD North in Manchester.

Kieran Roberts - Executive Producer, Coronation Street

Kieran’s credits as producer include BAFTA-winning and International Emmy-nominated children’s drama The Ward and Sally Wainwright’s acclaimed comedy drama At Home with the Braithwaites, also nominated for an International Emmy.

Kieran also produced Emmerdale, for which he picked up the BAFTA for best continuing drama in 2000, and Coronation Street. He was in charge for one of the most successful periods in Corrie’s history with audiences of almost twenty million viewers for the Richard Hillman storyline and RTS and BAFTA awards for best continuing drama in 2002 and 2003.

Since 2005, and for almost three thousand episodes to date, Kieran has also been executive producer of Coronation Street, working with five different producers on countless acclaimed and award-winning stories. In 2017 he is focusing solely on Coronation Street as it expands to deliver a sixth weekly episode.